


5 Times Someone Asked Reid if He Was Okay and 1 Time They Didn’t

by Element991



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Dark Thoughts, Drug Use, Mention of needle, Vague, mention of rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:14:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21906547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Element991/pseuds/Element991
Summary: Title pretty much sums it up. Written a while ago and not edited since.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	1. Morgan Asks if He’s Okay

It had been a rough case. The BAU’s profile was off and it cost them. Six young girls had been kidnapped, raped and murdered, the last one murdered right in front of the team. One local cop had been killed and one more wounded. It was, frankly, tiring and sad. 

On the way home, half of the team fell asleep and the other half was thinking too much to allow themselves to sleep. 

They got back to Quantico at 3 am, and Hotch sent everyone home. Paperwork could be done after everyone slept and regrouped themselves.   
  
While everyone headed home, Reid sat at his desk. 

Morgan spotted him and walked over. 

“Hey, pretty boy, you okay?” Morgan asked, sitting on the corner of Reid’s desk and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

Reid pushed his hair back and sighed, “Yeah, I’m- I’m- I guess I’m not, actually.”

“The case?”

Reid nodded, “It was just. . . a lot, you know?”

“Yeah, I do, trust me. Why don’t you come back to my place? Order takeout, watch some TV, and not think about this stuff.” Morgan offered.

“Okay.”

Morgan and Reid did just that. It probably wasn’t a healthy way to deal with stressors, but it worked. 


	2. JJ Asks if He’s Okay

Reid’s mom had a fall. No major injuries, just some bruises, but Reid took a couple days off of the job to be with her. 

His first day back, JJ approached him after they landed in Colorado where the case was located. 

“Hey, Spence, how’s your mom?” JJ asked as the two of them fell behind the rest of the team. 

“Alright, she’s healing well. She is going to be watched more closely from now on, I don’t think she’ll like that, but it’s for her own good.” Reid answered. 

“I’m glad she’s doing okay. Are you?” She could tell he hadn’t been getting much sleep from the dark circles under his eyes.

“Am I-? Oh, I’m okay,” He said with a forced smile. 

“You know I’m here for you if you need anything, if you want to talk or need a place to crash. Henry is missing you, I’m sure he’d love it if you came by sometime.”

“Thank you, JJ, and I will.”

“Good, he learned one of those card tricks you showed him, it’s all he’ll talk about.”

Reid chuckled and smiled, a real smile, and JJ knew everything would be okay eventually.


	3. Hotch Asks if He’s Okay

Reid exploded on a suspect. Hotch interfered and grabbed him out of the interrogation room. The yelling wasn’t what made Reid’s outburst a problem, it was the punch he threw. 

The local police already didn’t like the FBI helping, now they were punching a suspect that the local officers didn’t even think was a good suspect. It was also going to result in a problem with the FBI and a lot of paperwork. 

“Dr. Reid! What the hell was that?!” Hotch yelled after he and Reid were in the local sheriff’s office. Said office had been lended to the BAU for the duration of the case. 

“I just,” Reid took a few deep breaths, “I don’t know, I’m sorry, sir.”

“You could be fired! That was not an appropriate reaction to the situation!” Hotch continued. 

“I know, I just got so worked up, he- he-“

Hotch cut him off, “I know this case hits home for you, but you said it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“It’s not, sir, I just lost control.”

“You-“ Hotch took a deep breath and calmed himself down, “Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?” Reid asked. Hotch’s demeanor had changed and Reid wasn’t quite sure what the question meant. 

“I mean are you okay? Emotionally, are you stable?”

“I- yes- no- maybe, can I just get back to work? I promise I will never do that again.”

Hotch took a step towards Reid, “I need to know if you are okay, if you will be able to continue this job. Not this case, Spencer, this job as a whole.”

Reid took a moment to think. Hotch furrowed his eyebrows, not letting his eyes leave Reid’s face. 

“I think I should take some time off.”

Hotch nodded, “You’d probably be on leave, at least on leave, after that punch you threw anyway.”

Reid nodded and went to leave the office. Before he could, Hotch caught his shoulder. 

“This isn’t over, but please take care of yourself, you are an asset to this team.”

Reid nodded, then left. 

Hotch was left to think about everything that had just happened. Was the team going to be okay after that? Was Reid?


	4. Prentiss Asks if He’s Okay

Nothing had been going right. Or maybe it had and Reid’s mind just had a way of screwing it all up. Either way, he woke up screaming and sweating at 3 am. 

After briefly noting that it was “the witching hour” and maybe his nightmare was the devils work, he texted Prentiss. She had the most messed up sleeping schedule at the moment, so he texted her instead of risking waking anyone else up.

SR: Emily, are you awake?

EP: yea, are you okay?

SR: Another nightmare. 

EP: wanna talk about it?

SR: No, just wanted to know I wasn’t alone right now. 

EP: call?

SR: Please. 

[Incoming Call: Answered]  
[Call Ended- Duration: 1h 38m 15s]

SR: Thank you, again.

EP: it’s not a problem, Spencer, you know that

SR: Thanks, goodnight. 

EP: night, sleep well

Luckily, Reid did not have another nightmare that night and his mind was in a slightly better place. 


	5. Garcia Asks if He’s Okay

Reid was on desk duty. More specifically, desk duty with Garcia. 

He hobbled into Garcia’s lair with his crutches and took a seat in the computer chair she had for him. 

“Good morning, boy wonder,” Garcia said before she spun around to face him, “Are you okay?” She asked the second she saw his face. 

He had dark bags under his eyes and his appearance was even more disheveled than usual. 

“Yeah, just tired.” Reid answered. 

Usually, she wouldn’t believe that he was just tired, but something told her that he was telling the truth. Being around profilers all day, every day had given her a few skills, of which included being pretty good at telling if people were lying. 

“Who’s the lucky lady keeping you awake?” She joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Very funny, no, I can’t seem to get comfortable in bed with my leg like this, and it seems to hurt more at night. I don’t know, I just can’t sleep.”

“You’re welcome to take a nap in here as long as you don’t snore too loud.”

“I do not snore.”

Garcia ignored him and grabbed a pillow from under her desk. 

“Why-? You know what, never mind.” Reid said, accepting the fuzzy heart shaped pillow and deciding not to question why exactly she had it. 

“Goodnight, genius,” Garcia blew him a kiss that he just laughed at.

Reid managed to take a short nap and woke up feeling much better. It was times like this that made him even more glad that Garcia was the was she was.


	6. Nobody Asks if He’s Okay

Everybody was busy. Reid didn’t know if he would’ve reached out if they weren’t, though. 

A hard case had just finished and everybody rushed home. They had people they wanted to be with. JJ had a husband and kids. Hotch had a kid. Garcia had a boyfriend. Morgan had a girlfriend. Reid had nobody. Nobody had even bothered to talk to him after the case had finished. 

Reid went home, alone, and collapsed on his couch. He was exhausted, but his mind wouldn’t leave him alone. He tossed and turned, unable to stop thinking. 

_Its your fault. Do you know how many people have died because of you? You can’t help anyone! You can’t even help your mom! Or yourself! Pathetic._

Reid was overthinking. A common practice of his, but it was going darker tonight. He was overthinking his entire life. He would’ve given anything to have amnesia, or at least not an eidetic memory. He remembered everything he’d ever done wrong. He remembered every terrifying moment in his life. He remembered all of the times that he let people down. 

Reid made his way into his bathroom and shuffled through a drawer until he found what he was looking for. He slid down the wall across from the sink and plunged the needle into his skin. 


End file.
